Bushmills x Lowden Guitar Made From Whiskey Barrels

Bushmills, Ireland's oldest licensed
distillery has teamed up with County
Down based guitar maker, Lowden Guitars,
who are one of the world’s finest
acoustic guitar manufacturers to create
a new limited edition guitar made from
Bushmills Irish whiskey barrels and
ancient bog oak.

Lowden
Guitars who count some of the world’s
most famous artists amongst their
previous customers, including Northern
Irish band Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody,
Ed Sheeran and Eric Clapton has created
eight of the new ‘Bushmills x Lowden’
limited edition guitars which will each
set you back £8,500.

The
two Northern Irish icons known for their
unwavering character and quality
craftsmanship have collaborated on the
‘Bushmills x Lowden’ guitar to celebrate
those who pass their craft and legacy to
the next generation.

At the Old Bushmills Distillery, the
Kane family has been coopering barrels
for four generations passing their
specialist skills down through the years
to ensure Bushmills delivers the same
premium quality whiskey it began making
400 years ago. Similarly, George Lowden,
the founder of Lowden Guitars, has
pioneered acoustic guitar building
techniques since 1974 selecting only the
very best quality woods to make his
famous guitars and is passing his guitar
making skills onto his sons, to ensure
the Lowden legacy will live on for
generations to come.

The limited edition ‘Bushmills x Lowden’
F-50 guitar combines hundreds of years
of cooper and luthier craftmanship with
three types of wood that are steeped in
heritage and character. George Lowden
personally selected Bushmills Irish
Whiskey barrel wood for the 12th fret
and back inlays, the bindings, rosette
and head facings; ancient bog oak for
the back and sides of the guitar; and
sinker redwood for the soundboard.

It took George and his sons more than 40
hours to design and build the first
guitar in this limited range. Other
features of this unique guitar include a
cross symbol formed of a cooper’s hammer
and luthier’s chisel, representing the
coming together of these two crafts. On
the back, two lines echo the staves
found in a Bushmills Irish Whiskey
barrel and represent the passing of
skills from one generation to the next.

George Lowden, whose acoustic guitars
have been used by some of the world’s
most famous artists, including Gary
Lightbody, Ed Sheeran and Eric Clapton,
said: “We scour the world for the best
tonewoods which are the real ‘stars’ of
our guitars, determining how they sound,
feel, and play, so my sons and I
relished the opportunity to work with
the Coopers to select the best
Bushmills® Irish Whiskey barrel wood for
the guitar. It was a great opportunity
to see up close how the barrels are
formed and how they give the whiskey its
colour and flavour.

"The three woods used to create the
guitar play an integral part in making
the Bushmills x Lowden so unique.
Bushmills® Irish Whiskey barrel wood is
steeped in over 400 years of whiskey
making heritage and used throughout to
perfectly compliment the other tone
woods. The back and sides are made up of
Ancient Bog Oak to offer a mellow, warm
sound and when paired with Sinker
Redwood on the soundboard, it helps
extract a clarity and sparkle from each
and every note the guitar produces."

Colum Egan, Master Distiller at
Bushmills® Irish Whiskey, adds: "Lowden
Guitars are famous for their workmanship
and quality, and we are proud to join
forces with George and his sons on this
exciting collaboration which celebrates
how specialist hand-crafted skills are
not bought, but perfected over time and
passed from generation to generation.

"At Bushmills, our coopers’ craft and
skill are as fundamental to Irish
whiskey making as the oak barrels they
work with, ensuring we produce the same
premium quality whiskey we began making
over 400 years ago. It has been an
honour to work with Lowden Guitars, who
like us understand the important role
wood has to play in making their guitars
so unique."

The eight limited edition ‘Bushmills x
Lowden’ guitars are now available to buy
each retailing at £8,500. To register
your interest or to find out more visit
www.lowdenguitars.com/bushmillsxlowden

You will also will find the current
Bushmills core range as well as some previous
limited editions available from
specialist online whisky shops such as
Master of
Malt

Where To Buy Whisky Online

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